Driver caught going 6mph over the speed limit blames ‘poor …
A West Country motorist has shared his frustrations after being fined for speeding along a Bristol road when he thought he was travelling under the speed limit. Alan Jewell has claimed signs warning drivers of a speed limit change along the A4 Portway near Shirehampton, are of a ‘poor standard’.
Mr Jewell from Devon is a frequent visitor to Bristol but a few weeks ago, after his most recent venture into the city, he received a fine informing him he had been caught by a mobile speed camera travelling 6mph over the peed limit. He said he was 'shocked' at the letter he had received, claiming the fine was ‘aggressively presented and worded’.
He said: “I felt like I’d been accused of a crime against humanity rather than being 6mph over the speed limit.” Mr Jewell decided to head back to the stretch of road where he had been caught to see whether there could have been any other 'factors' involved that could explain how he ended up with a fine.
He said: “It was immediately obvious to me that the issue was poor signage, which is the absolute legal minimum of round 30 signs either side of the carriageway. These [signs] didn’t have high visibility backgrounds, there were absolutely no road surface markings and no illuminating repeaters.”
The road itself is the main route between the centre of Bristol and the M5, so is well travelled by locals and visitors. Mr Jewell added: “There is no change in the road conditions that would suggest any change in the speed limit as there are no houses or drives on the left at this point, or narrowing or sharp bends.”
But his frustrations with the situation don’t stop there. Mr Jewell’s speed was detected not by a fixed speed camera but by a mobile speed trap which he described as ‘unfair’. He said: “I want to raise this issue as I feel the use of a speed camera at this location is unfair and unjust, and I suspect many are getting caught out.”
The A4 Portway junction by Barrow Hill Road is a regular check point used by the police which Mr Jewell described as unfair as ‘more action’ was needed to make the change ‘more obvious’. He said he feels the minimum amount of change that needed to be made was signs which had better ‘high visibility’ and a ‘30 roundel’ on the road.
A spokesperson for Bristol City Council[3] said: “All speed limit signage in the city is installed in line with the national Department for Transport’s Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016. The Highway Code also makes it clear that a 30 miles per hour speed limit applies to all single and dual carriageways with street lights, unless there are signs showing otherwise.”
“It remains the responsibility of the motorist to be aware of the provisions of the Highway Code and the speed limit of the highway they are travelling on at any given time.”
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police said: "Mobile speed enforcement units can be placed for several different reasons, including based on community concern, where members of the public have expressed worries about speeding in their area, on routes identified from data as high risk, and areas where collisions are a factor.
“We also publicise in advance the locations of mobile speed units on our website.”.
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References
- ^ 'Main roads will shut - some forever - if underground is scrapped' (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
- ^ Major plan will spell the end of M32 as we know it (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
- ^ Bristol City Council (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
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